Discussion

The idea for the Chatbot Mafia came after I was thinking of a different approach I could take to chatbots.
I'm a big fan of the site www.growthgeeks.com and ever since I started designing and launching my first few chatbots last year, I've fully immersed myself in the space and have educated myself on all the different components of making a really great product.
I've noticed many people are launching individual chatbots or design/dev platforms, so I wanted to create a unique, on-demand chatbot services brand that provides the highest quality of work from the most talented freelance professionals.
"Wherever there's opportunity, the Mafia will be there."
- The Godfather

@whoismaxpelzner Nice job. (great use of workify)
I was going to set up a site that did this, but just didn't get around to it to be honest.
How many developers are on the platform?
I signed up but I don't know if that means I'm a customer (buying services) or a developer (making bots) - that could be clearer IMO.
One thing about Workify I didn't like was that there is no way to change the flow, so you are immediately asking for money (sometimes a lot) upfront without knowing who will be doing your work, what they've done before etc etc. This put me off using it for this purpose to be honest.
Also - I'd remove the term "Chatbot" and replace with "Bot"
So many people build "chatbots" which are not that, they are just conditional formatting - pre-determined flows, there is not true AI/NLP is the majority of these. And that is fine but I think it needs to be made clear.

@bentossell thanks for the nice comment and great suggestion to fix!
To answer your questions :
- I've chosen a few devs to work with me on the platform right now. Very open to bringing on and adding other talented people offering complimentary services as demand grows.
- Because I've personally vetted the designers and devs working on each service, when you sign up you are a customer that can enjoy browsing the marketplace.

@whoismaxpelzner Ok...
Would be good to know who these devs are, what previous bots have they done?
(how do we know this isnt just a site that seems to be a platform but is just a service for your company? - Not really a platform if people cant at least apply to be the builders too)

@bentossell A few months ago I did some outreach promo looking for interested design & dev freelancers. I got over 70+ applicants from all over the world.
If anyone is interested, they can answer some questions on Typeform here : https://cloneagency.typeform.com...

Looks great congrats on the launch. Has the mafia built any bots yet we can check out? And curious - how did you arrive at your pricing? Where do you fall with regards to pricing versus the other options for brands/businesses looking to build a bot?

@mleonard appreciate the comment! We have a few different bots in the lab right now, getting ready to launch soon. Our most recent you can check out is "Ask Gary Vee".
In regards to pricing, I had consulted a few devs to figure out what each service could be priced at by itself. I really like the idea of "predictable revenue" so I wanted the Mafia to offer subscription services that would keep clients engaged because building a chatbot needs maintenance and iteration. It was challenging to find pricing that others offered, but our goal is to be an extension for brands and businesses to help them with their messaging strategy!